William a



(No Model.)

W. A. BLODGETT,

eIeAR LIGHTER.

No. 545,871. Patented Sept. `10, 1895.

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WILLIAM A. BLODGETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOTHOMAS E. WOODLEY, OF SAME PLAGE.

CIGAR-LIGHTER.

SECIFICATXON forming part of Letters lPatent No. 545,871, datedSeptember 10, 1895.

Application filed April l, 1895. Serial No. 543.957- (NO model-l I .Toall whom t may concern:

B e it known that I, WILLIAM A. BLODGETT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of'Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cigar-Lighters,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cigar-lighters.

The object of the "invention is a device so contrived that by its usethe cigar will not be lighted in any except the right way-at the tipevenly; also that the iiame is guarded so that it will not set re towhat may come in contact accidentally with the burner; and also so thatthe flame is sheltered against being blown out by the wind orair-currents, the whole constitutin g a simple, cheap, and effectivedevice for the purpose designed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part'of this specification,Figure l is a side View of my improved lighter. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalvertical section of the burner, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section of thesame on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

In said drawings, A is the usual flexible gastube by which the lighteris suspended from the point of supply, B the jointed connection to theswinging burner, and O the ordinary handle. These parts do not differfrom similar parts in common cigar-lighters which have been soextensively in use. Instead of the common burner Iapply the burner D,which is of the Bunsen type, designed to burn a mixture of air and gas.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the gas-pipe d delivers thegas into the tubular chamber d', which is furnished with airinlets d2.In this chamber the air and gas are mingled together, and the mixturepasses up and out at the burner-opening d3, which is shown in thedrawings as being made with a lava tip.

Supported from the tubular chamber d by suitable arms or means is aflame-chamber E, made of wire-gauze, so that the flame is surrounded bythe wire-gauze. This gauze may also be extended across the bottom, ifthat is desired; but I prefer to leave the bottom open. The burner, aswill be understood, is of the sort which produces `great heat ratherthan light, and gives a perfect combustion. 1Within this chamber is aquartering-partition F, of metal, which serves the double purpose ofdistributing the flame to all parts of the chamber and of affording abody of metal to receive and retain the heat. The walls of thispartition are preferably made perforated with the perforations f toafford communication of the Iiame from quarter to quarter. `When the gasis lighted, the interior of the chamber E becomes very hot and sometimesthe wiregauze itself becomes red; but the combustion being of mingledair and gas there is or should be no smoking and no material deposit ofsoot. There being no openly-exposed fiame, the danger of fireisexceedingly slight, it' not absolutely done away with. To light a cigarthe tip of the cigar should be placed directly in contact with thegauze, andthe suction of the smoker will then draw the heat of theinternal flame directly to this point and ignite the tobacco directly atthose parts and at those parts only where the tobacco comes in contactwith the gauze. The result will be that the cigar is lighted evenlyexactly at the end without burning the wrapper or binder more at oneside than at the other; and, moreover, the difficulty experienced in theuse of the ordinary flame-lighter, due to the drawing of the flameitself for a considerable distance into the body of the cigar, thuscooking the tobacco and destroying the liavor and aroma of the cigar, isentirely overcome by my device. When a cigar is properly lighted evenlyand exactly at the end, and without any penetration of the llame to theinterior, the flavor and aroma of the tobacco are much better preserved,as every smoker will discover by experience; and this is fprecisely theresult accomplished by my improved cigar-lighter.

Some of the advantages of my invention may be obtained even ifthe gauzedoes not entirely surround the flame. Thus a part only of the shield orcovering need be made of the gauze; or a simple plate or disk of gauze,either with or Without other material surrounding the iiame, willobviously answer the purpose and afford a means forY lighting the cigarevenly, as above indicated gbut I prefer, of course, the constructionshown in the drawings, in which the gauze entirely sur- .ICO

rounds the llame, as the gauze then serves a triple purpose-to light thecigar, to shield the llame from aircurrents, and also as a protectionfrom fire.

Although I prefer to use a gas-burner and a flame of gas, and preferthat the gas-burn er should be of the Bunsen type, it is not absolutelynecessary to my invention, as some of the results of my invention may beobtained by combining the gauze lighting device With any well-known formof burner, burning any of the ordinary burning oils, fluids, or vapors;and I do not desire to be limited in these respects.

By the expression gauze or Wire-gauze used in the specification I mean aperforated incombustible structure or sheet comprising a number of neinterstices. It is not necessary that this sheet or surface shall beactually made of Wire-gauze or wire-cloth; but that is the best andcheapest material for the purpose that I now know.

I claim- 1. The combination With the burner of a cigar-lighter of agauze surface arranged adjacent to the exterior of the llame and closeenough thereto so that When the end of a cigar is placed against thegauze and the suction applied, the heat will be drawn thereby to thegauze and the cigar thus lighted evenly and exactly at the end,substantially as specified.

2. In a cigar lighter, the combination ofthe Bunsen burner attached to aflexible tube, and a gauze surface arranged adjacent to the exterior ofthe llame and close enough thereto so that when the end of the cigar isplaced against the gauze and the suction applied the heat Will be drawnthereby through the gauze and the cigar lighted evenly and exactly atthe end, substantially as specified.

\VILLIAM A. BLODGETT.

Vitnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, S. E. CURTIS.

